Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations 1

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Developing Emotionally Intelligent Organizations

Richard E. Boyatzis and Ellen Van Oosten

July 10, 2002

To appear in Roderick Millar (ed.). (2002). International Executive Development

Programmes, 7th Edition. London: Kogan Page Publishers

Frank Sims was worried as he watched the Roadway truck drive away from the

dock. Specialty Glassware (a pseudonym) was one of Roadway’s large clients. The

damage problems had been getting worse lately. He needed some Pepto Bismol. As he

walked to his office, he remembered something from a recent workshop on emotional

intelligence. Instead of worrying about the damage and an angry customer, Frank asked

himself how he could see this as an opportunity to learn something. He watched another

truck being loaded and an idea began to take shape. He thought about the customer and

wondered if the dock workers and drivers understood their customer’s concerns. He

looked for a way to engage more people in solving the customers’ problems.

That afternoon, Frank called the Senior Transportation Manager at Specialty

Glassware and got his help on the project. They videotaped various operations at the

company’s distribution center, as well as one of their plants. Michael interviewed

laborers and salespeople about their business processes for the video.

Then Frank called a special meeting at the Roadway terminal at 10:00 PM one

night. Several of the top executives from Specialty Glassware came for the meeting with
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the dock crew. They described their vision, business, and strategy. They talked about

their customers, manufacturing processes and value chain. Frank showed the videotape

and the crew got to ask questions. At the end, each dock worker was presented with a

commemorative mug made by Specialty Glassware.

The dock crew was surprised and impressed that top management from one of

Roadway’s customers would put so much effort into helping them understand their

business. It made them feel good to know how their efforts fit into the big picture. They

could see how important the products were and how much care Specialty Glassware put

into serving their customer’s needs. It made them want to be more careful and find ways

to help Specialty Glassware succeed. These meetings became a story workers told new

hires as an example of Roadway being a great place to work.

Breakthrough Leadership

Frank’s experiment with new ways to be a leader is typical of many innovations

going on at Roadway Express Inc. during the last three years. Roadway Express is a

trucking company founded in 1930, with over 26,000 employees. They have 379

terminals throughout the U.S. and Canada. Existing in the highly competitive trucking

industry, company executives recognized that they needed an enduring strategy to

energize their employees around the country and outpace competition in the long run. In

1999, the company partnered with the Weatherhead School of Management at Case

Western Reserve University to begin a journey of transformation. A customized

leadership development program known as Developing Breakthrough Leadership at

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Roadway was launched. The program produced direct and measurable results in the

following three years.

As an example of the program’s impact occurred with the implementation of a

company-wide safety initiative started in 1999. The rollout was so successful that:

♦ Roadway saved $6 million since inception;

♦ The number of injuries decreased by 43% annually; and

♦ The number of accidents decreased by 41% annually.

Roadway is a different company now. Executives and managers, drivers and

dockworkers, union representatives and staff talk excitedly about what it means to work

at Roadway. Their excitement is contagious and inspires a new level of confidence in

their customers. Jim Staley, Roadway’s President, says, “We’re convinced we’re

developing leaders at every level of the organization. That‘s what we’re doing with EI

(Emotional Intelligence). We want to not just develop leaders in the senior management

team, but at every level…The resonance anybody can create as a leader can improve

performance for the individual and the organization.”

Here’s how they made it all happen. In 1999, company leaders recognized that

culturally, Roadway needed to change. The company’s culture originated and evolved

during decades when management practice was typically more traditional. It was

characterized by hierarchy, a command and control style and in recent years average

financial performance. Top executives identified that what they needed was

breakthroughs -breakthroughs in performance, leadership and management. A vision

emerged as “everyone is fully engaged in the success of the company and committed to

the success of each other.” The leadership program became the launch pad for attuning
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key leaders to the vision and enhancing their capabilities to achieve it. The overall

objectives were to help managers develop new knowledge, competencies and motivation

to pursue their vision and succeed together. Specific goals included:

♦ Increasing leaders’ self-awareness and emotional intelligence;

♦ Positioning leaders to develop leaders at every level;

♦ Developing the capabilities of the leadership team to achieve breakthrough

performance; and

♦ Broadening the participants’ understanding of issues that are crucial for long-term

economic performance.

A 9-day program was designed and delivered over six months. The approach

included a multidisciplinary curriculum, centering on emotional intelligence, strategy,

system thinking, marketing, finance and appreciative inquiry, a process for leading

change. Participants included key leaders throughout the Roadway organization, most

notably the President, Jim Staley.

Creating Better Leaders-- Stimulating More Emotional Intelligence

Thousands of studies have shown that effective leaders use more emotional

intelligence competencies every day than others in leadership positions (Goleman, 1998).

Emotional intelligence (EI) is defined as a set of competencies that derive from a neural

circuitry emanating in the limbic system. These competencies involve self-awareness and

self-management. Frank used his awareness of his own worried feelings and willingness

to be flexible to stimulate a different way of thinking about the situation. EI also includes

social awareness, which Frank used in realizing that the dock workers at Roadway

probably did not understand their customer’s challenges and concerns. By holding the
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meeting and showing the videotape, he helped them to understand Specialty Glassware at

a deeper level. The EI competencies are listed in Table 1.

Table 1. Emotional Intelligence Competencies Related to Outstanding Leadership

(Goleman, Boyatzis and McKee, 2002)

Personal Competence
The Self-awareness Cluster:
• Emotional self-awareness: recognizing our emotions and their effects
• Accurate self-assessment: knowing one’s strengths and limits
• Self-confidence: a strong sense of one’s self worth and capabilities

The Self-management Cluster:

• Adaptability: flexibility in dealing with changing situations or obstacles
• Emotional Self-control: inhibiting emotions in service of group or organizational
norms
• Initiative: proactive, bias toward action
• Achievement orientation: striving to do better
• Trustworthiness: integrity or consistency with one’s values, emotions, and
behavior
• Optimism: a positive view of the life and the future

Social Competence
Social Awareness Cluster:
• Empathy: understanding others and taking active interest in their concern
• Service orientation: recognizing and meeting customer’s needs
• Organizational awareness: perceives political relationships within the
organization

Relationship Management Cluster:

• Inspirational Leadership: inspiring and guiding groups and people
• Developing Others: helping others improve performance
• Change catalyst: initiating or managing change
• Conflict management: resolving disagreements
• Influence: getting others to agree with you
• Teamwork and Collaboration: Building relationships with a creating a shared
vision and synergy
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The Breakthrough Leadership program adapted a design used successfully in

degree programs at The Weatherhead School of Management. The central theme focuses

on helping managers identify areas for behavior change, then giving them opportunities

to practice new habits real-time. In the degree programs, the results have been

extraordinary. Participants have shown a 70% improvement in emotional intelligence

competencies one to two years after the program. The changes are sustained at 50%

improvement five to seven years later (Boyatzis, Stubbs, and Taylor, in press; Goleman,

Boyatzis, and McKee, 2002). These dramatic results are in contrast with the typical

impact shown by above average MBA programs of 2% improvement one to two years

after a program, and the typical impact of management training showing only 10%

improvement three to eighteen months after training in industry (Goleman, Boyatzis, and

McKee, 2002).

The program guides each participant through a process of discovery called Self-

Directed Learning, shown in Figure 1 (Boyatzis, 1994; Boyatzis, Cowen, and Kolb, 1995;

Goleman, Boyatzis, and McKee, 2002). Because of the discontinuous nature of sustained

change, the process is experienced as five discoveries. The first discovery is one’s Ideal

Self, that is what he/she wants out of life and work- what his/her dreams and aspirations

are. This helps each person discover or rediscover his or her passion at work. This energy

becomes the driving motivation for making changes in their leadership behavior. After a

number of exercises, each person develops a Personal Vision statement describing their

Ideal Self.
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Figure 1. Boyatzis’ Theory of Self-Directed Learning (Goleman, Boyatzis, and McKee, 2002)

#1: My Ideal Self-

Who do I want to be?
What do I want out of life
and work?

#4: Practicing the new #2: My Real Self-

behavior, building new How do I act?
neural pathways through
to mastery
#5: Developing Trusting
Relationships, like coaches
that help, support, & encourage #2: My Strengths-
each step in the process Where my deal
and Real Self
overlap
#4: Experimenting
with new behavior,
thoughts, & feelings

#2: My Gaps- where

my Ideal & and
#3: My Learning Agenda-
Real Self Differ
Building on my Strengths
while reducing Gaps
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Following development of the ideal, each participant works toward the second discovery,

awareness of his or her Real Self. After receiving feedback from a 360 assessment of

emotional intelligence competencies, participants analyze the results with personal

coaches. In the context of their Ideal Self, this view of their Real Self allows them to

develop a Personal Balance Sheet. The Personal Balance Sheet provides a view of their

distinctive strengths, gaps (or weaknesses) close to the tipping point of effectiveness, and

those gaps further from the tipping point.

With the help of coaches, each person converts their Personal Vision and Balance

Sheet into a Learning Plan for their development as a leader-- this is the third discovery

in the process. The plan provides a focus for their future efforts. It provokes them to

think of how to use their day-to-day and week-to-week experiences as the basis for

learning. In this sense, the plan helps each person convert their life and work activities

into a learning laboratory. The planning is slightly different from typical methods

because each person is encouraged to use their own style in planning (not imposing a one

planning method for all), learning style preferences and flexibility, and structure of their

life style. The experimentation and practice occurs on the job, as evident in Frank’s

experience. These constitute the fourth discovery.

The fifth discovery in the process is actually a continuous discovery throughout

the entire process-- the development of trusting relationships that help and encourage the

person at each step in the process. It is here that coaches become so crucial to change.

The coaches help a person reflect and develop their dreams and aspirations, look at the

way they come across to others, identify strengths and weaknesses and overcome blind

spots in their leadership style. The coach helps the person “reality test” their learning
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plan. This includes finding ways to work on the goals during their typical work and life

experiences, anticipating likely obstacles and considering ways to overcome them.

During the experimentation and practice, coaches help a person keep track of and reward

progress. They can serve as a reminder or a cheerleader.

Creating an Exciting Culture

The ultimate goal of the Breakthrough Leadership initiative was cultural

transformation. As the executives of Roadway described it, they wanted everyone to

“understand both the big picture (i.e., how Roadway will be successful) and their

personal role in the big picture (how does their role affect the customers and the financial

results). That is referred to as ‘line of sight.’ Ultimately, each employee must be able to

link his/her actions to the financial results of the organization.”

To extend application of the Breakthrough Leadership Program into changing the

culture, Roadway and Weatherhead started a process called Engagement Through

Education in the Fundamentals of Business (EEFB). It followed the same self-directed

learning model of change described earlier at the organizational level. Using Appreciative

Inquiry (Cooperrider and Srivastva, 1990) to convene large group meetings, people were

brought together to discover and articulate their organizational “Ideal”. They told stories

about times when they were at their best and proud to be a part of Roadway, times when

they served their customers, and made money. They also examined how the company is

doing on numerous dimensions (i.e., looking at the “Real” organization).

The meetings were called Summits. Each Summit was organized around a major

terminal. They identified a business topic of current importance, such as “Delivering

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unsurpassed speed and leveraging employee pride and involvement,” or “developing a

Team Sell approach.” They invited people from all of the stakeholder groups involved in

this topic. Groups of 200-300 people met for several days. They identified their

organizational Strengths and Gaps related to the shared Ideal.

At the end of the Summit, they broke into small groups to analyze a better way for

Roadway to address the overall theme. They developed a Learning Agenda for the

company about an aspect of theme of that Summit. The study groups, or action learning

teams, met regularly to analyze the specific issue over several months. To model

effective large group management, the last segment of each Summit was spent discussing

how well time was used and participants’ reactions to the Summits. These were

emotional and exciting moments when truck drivers and business managers would talk

about how proud they were to be in a company that asked for their views and cared about

their approach to the future of the company.

As they worked in action learning teams, they practiced new leadership behavior

using emotional intelligence, meanwhile experimenting and practicing new

organizational norms. They are developing their new culture while solving real problems.

They are also forming trusting relationships that are the basis for a new Roadway culture.

An example of how the culture changed and new leadership emerged was evident

in an incident in which a mechanic and a driver discovered a way to save the company

$130,000 per year on one route. Remembering that the company has 379 terminals, each

with numerous routes, they expect dramatic savings for this one incident alone.

A mechanic, a driver and the terminal manager discussed the problem of delays in

getting the drivers on the road. Overweight shipments forced the dock workers to unload
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some of the freight to get within required weight limits. This took time and cost the

company money as drivers sat waiting, with possible cascade effects on delaying other

shipments. Coming from a Summit, the mechanic and the driver felt inspired to take

initiative, to think for themselves and figure it out. They started analyzing the situation

that evening. Sitting in the mechanic’s kitchen, with post-it notes, they mapped out the

process and issues. They decided to bring others from the terminal into the discussion and

invited them to his home the next evening.

After several meetings, his kitchen looked like it had new wallpaper. His wife

thought it was annoying but deferred to his enthusiasm and let him continue to use the

kitchen as his workroom. They finally realized that the problem was related to the new

trucks. But the goods being shipped had similar weights and the various trucks were just

about the same weight. Sitting around the kitchen table late one night, staring at the wall

of yellow notes, they realized that the new trucks had larger fuel tanks. Their practice of

always topping off the tanks was leading to greater weight of the truck and its fuel. That

left less weight allowance for the freight. Some calculations about their typical routes

revealed that they could make the deliveries by filling the tanks to three quarters and use

the remaining weight for freight. The mechanic and driver felt responsible for helping

Roadway be as efficient, and therefore profitable, as possible. Their sense of ownership

and engagement was a direct result of the EEFB process.

Transformation Through Executive Education

Roadway feels like a new company in an old business. The results of the

Breakthrough Leadership program have been dramatic for the company. The people of
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Roadway have gotten excited about being leaders. Through working on their emotional

intelligence, they have expanded the possibilities for their personal impact. Its effect has

been contagious. Inspiration and energy have spread throughout the company. A new

culture has emerged, one in which people are motivated and innovative. Their customers

are excited about the change as well. The new Roadway is surpassing many of their

competitors in revenue and net profit growth through savvy acquisitions, cost savings,

and an atmosphere of excitement, especially during a period that has not been kind to the

industry.

Does this story remind you of your recent executive education experience or

leadership and organization development programs? If so, we offer this story as

affirmation and encouragement to continue. If it does not, we encourage you to consider

the power of emotional intelligence to ignite excitement in your organization. You will be

amazed at the results!

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References

Boyatzis, R.E. (1994, August). Stimulating self-directed learning through the Managerial

Assessment and Development Course. Journal of Management Education, 18(3).

Boyatzis, R.E., Cowen, S.S., & Kolb, D.A. (1995). Innovations in professional

education: Steps on a journey from teaching to learning. San Francisco: Jossey-

Bass.

Boyatzis, R.E., Stubbs, L., and Taylor, S. (in press). Learning cognitive and emotional

intelligence competencies through graduate management education. Academy of

Management Journal on Learning and Education.

Cooperrider, D., Srivastva, S. (1990). Appreciative inquiry in organizational life. In

Srivastva, S., Cooperrider, D. L. (Eds.), Appreciative management and

leadership: The power of positive thought and action in organizations. San

Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Inc.

Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R.E., and McKee, A. (2002). Primal leadership: Realizing the

power of emotional intelligence. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.